Ellen DeGeneres calls for Kevin Hart to be Oscars host

ELLEN DEGENERES has said that Kevin Hart should be reinstated as the host of the 2019 Oscars.

Last month, just days after he announced he was hosting, describing it as the “opportunity of a lifetime” Hart stepped down from the role after comments he made and tweets he published that had been criticised for being homophobic resurfaced.

In one now-deleted tweet the 39-year-old comedian said: “Yo if my son comes home & try’s [sic] 2 play with my daughters doll house I’m going 2 break it over his head & say n my voice ‘stop that’s gay’.”

Speaking on her show on Friday, DeGeneres revealed that she had made a personal appeal to the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences for Hart to be reinstated as the host of the awards.

She said: “I called the Academy today because I really want you to host the Oscars.

“I was so excited when I heard that they asked you. I thought it was an amazing thing. I knew how important it was and how it was a dream.”

It is not clear who the comedian spoke to but she told Hart that the Academy want him to host and they are asking “what can we do to make this happen?”

The Academy has not commented on the DeGeneres’ claims.

While it’s not clear if the final decision lies with Hart or if he’s still in the running – the Academy is yet to announce his replacement – he said he was evaluating the conversation with DeGeneres and would assess what to do next.

She said: “I think they were secretly hoping that you would come back. And I’m praying that this happens.”

DeGeneres, who has previously hosted the Academy Awards, told Hart to ignore those who criticised him online, describing them as a small group.

She said: “Whatever is going on in the internet, don’t pay attention to them.

“That’s a small group of people being very loud. We are a huge group of people who love you and want to see you host the Oscars.”

The Night School actor, who has now apologised again for the comments, attracted further criticism before he stepped down from hosting duties because he initially said he would not apologise again for the past statements.

In response to Hart’s appearance on the show, Black Lives Matter activist DeRay McKesson tweeted: “I expected Ellen to actually ask Kevin Hart some sort of challenging question. Anything, really. But instead, it was just one long monologue from Kevin interspersed with Ellen’s approval. That interview made me miss the previous talk show hosts that asked tough questions.”

In an op-ed, Tre’vell Anderson, OUT’s director of culture and entertainment, wrote: “I’m not one to tell many people to ‘stay in your lane’, but Kevin Hart is a black man who once ‘joked’ he’d break a doll house over the head of his black son; my granny once said ‘truth is always told in jest’. As a black queer someone who, when my body began to manifest aspects of my identity even I was unaware of — a sway in my walk, a bend in my wrist — was punched in the chest by black men in my family and told to ‘man up’, Ellen can’t and doesn’t speak for me.”

Michael B Jordan was asked if he thought Hart should host the awards ceremony by Variety at the publication’s 10 Directors to Watch event.

He said: “I mean, I think that’s is decision. You know at the end of the day, you know, I think, you know, he said what he said, he apologised for it. He’s very solid on his point of view and where he stands on this issue so...and he had a really good conversation with Ellen, she’s a good buddy of mine so to have them have a real intelligent, you know, smart conversation about it and leave it in his hands to make a decision of what he wants to do, I think that’s fair.”

In an interview with Variety conducted before his appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres show, Hart responded to a question asking if he would reconsider hosting the Academy Awards by saying

“I don’t believe in going backwards. When I go on that stage, it will be because I’ve somehow figured out a way to win the Oscar.”

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Posted on: 04/01/2019 11:12 PM

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